Civil War Music History and Songs

(Hardtack & Coffee)

Music has always been an important part of American society and it was no different during the Civil War. Military bands were called upon to play at recruitment rallies and their patriotic marching tunes were sometimes a great incentive to inspire young men to enlist. When volunteer regiments were recruited, a regimental band was usually included as a part of that organization. The bands were needed to play for parades, formations, dress parades and evening concerts. Union and Confederate armies both authorized regimental bands. In the Union army, each artillery or infantry regiment could have one 24-member band and the cavalry was limited to a 16 member band. So many bands and the need for more disciplined organizations made officials in the Union War Department reconsider the regulations. In 1862, the Department ordered the dismissal of all brass ensembles that belonged to volunteer regiments. To replace discharged regimental bands, brigade bands were formed to serve the entire brigade of a division. Despite the order, some regimental officers were able to retain their bands. The musicians re-enlisted as combatants and were detailed by the colonel commanding the regiment into a regimental band.

Members of the 26th North Carolina Infantry Band

There were fewer Confederate bands because musicians were not quite as plentiful in the South and good instruments were expensive and very difficult to obtain. Quality brass instruments were rare because that metal was in short supply in the Confederacy and some of the best instrument makers were in the North. Like their Union counterparts, most Confederate bands were dismissed from service after the first year of the war though several organizations, including the 26th North Carolina Infantry, retained their bands and many southern officers were glad for it. Generals Lee, Jackson, and Longstreet were all serenaded by Confederate bands while in camp and they enjoyed the music very much. Most officers, including General Lee, felt that the music supplied by these surviving bands was very important to keep up the morale of the men. The bands that remained with the army often used music borrowed from Northern song books and used captured instruments in place of the inferior Confederate-made instruments. Some Confederate bands were better than others and not all bands sounded that good. One Confederate soldier regarded the playing of his regiment's band "comparable to the braying of a pack of mules..."

A Union drum

Each company in an infantry regiment had a musician who was usually a drummer. They were relied upon to play drum beats to call the soldiers into formation and for other events. Drums got the soldiers up in the morning, signaled them to report for morning roll call, sick call, and guard duty. Drummers also played at night to signal lights out or "taps". The most important use of drums was on the battlefield where they were used to communicate orders from the commanding officers and signal troop movement. Civil War drums were made of wood that had been cut into thin layers, steamed, and formed into a round shell. The outside of a Union drum was often painted and featured a large eagle displaying its wings with the stars and stripes flowing around it. Confederate drums were not quite as fancy, many just having a plain wood finish. The heads of the drum were made from calfskin and stretched tight by ropes.

A Union fifer

Drummers were often accompanied by a fifer. The fife was a high-pitched instrument, similar to a piccolo, and usually made of rosewood. This hollow wooden instrument was played by blowing wind over one hole and controlling the pitch with fingers placed over other holes along the length of the tube. Fancier fifes had brass fittings and engravings on them. Like drummers, the fifers were also part of the regiment's band who were detailed as musicians.

Not all drummers, fifers and bandsmen were allowed to go into battle. When fighting appeared imminent, musicians were often ordered to the rear to assist surgeons and care for the wounded. Some brigade bands did accompany their commanders onto the field and played patriotic songs while under the battle raged all around them. Can you imagine the type of courage it took to play your instrument while bullets and shells flew thick and fast all around you?

Cavalry regiments did not use drums and fifes. Instead, they used bugles to sound the different calls in camp and on the march. The bugler was considered a cavalry regiment's musician. Cavalrymen became so familiar with their own musician and his bugle calls, that they could often distinguish his calls from that of another regiment. Like the cavalry, artillery units also used bugles in camp and on the battlefield. One could tell who was camped where by the sounds of drums or bugles being played.

Soldiers in both armies had their own favorite songs to sing and listen to. Sometimes they sang while marching to keep up their spirits. Union soldiers liked patriotic and sentimental songs. The Battle Cry of Freedom was a Union favorite. Some other popular tunes were The Battle Hymn of the Republic, John Brown's Body, Just Before The Battle Mother, Dixie's Land, Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground, The Vacant Chair, and Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!

Confederate Soldiers also had patriotic and romantic songs they enjoyed such as The Bonnie Blue Flag, Maryland, My Maryland, Lorena, and a southern version of The Battle Cry of Freedom

The "Battle of the Bands", Civil War Style

During the winter of 1862-1863, Union and Confederate armies were camped near each other at Fredericksburg, Virginia, separated only by the expanse of the Rappahannock River. One cold afternoon, a band in the Union camp struck up some patriotic tunes to cheer the men. They were answered from across the river by a Confederate band. The Union band played another tune followed by the Confederates who also did their best to play the same song. Back and forth the musical duel went well into the evening hours. Soldiers in both armies listened to the musical battle and would cheer for their own bands. The duel finally ended when both bands struck up the tune of "Home, Sweet Home". It was then that the men of both sides who were so far from their homes, cheered as one.

The Civil War Songbook
This collection of "War Between the States" music has been the standard one in the re-enacting circuit for many years now. The sheet music is published just as it was originally and it contains some of the best known classic songs.

Weapons and Strategies of the Civil War
For grades 3-6 which packs 48 pages with color photos and 30 links providing quality Internet sites for more research. Chapter notes, a bibliography and an index round out information and assure not just accuracy, but constant updates to research information.

A Ballad of the Civil War
A wonderful chapter book for children that should help them to appreciate the fact that some people could not defend a person's right to own other people and to understand that sad era that ended in the "brothers' war." It has four chapters with a prologue and a closing author's note. The conversations that Tom has with the household slave "Uncle Roger" provide some unique insight into the dilemma that slaves faced in the antebellum South

Fields of Fury
The American Civil War
Written for young readers a stirring account of the greatest conflict to happen on our nation's soil, the Civil War, bringing to life the tragic struggle that divided not only a nation, but also friends and family. well-organized, well-executed, kid-friendly history of the Civil War was a brilliant idea if there ever was one. It's difficult to imagine anyone doing a better job than McPherson at breaking down this complex, interrelated series of events.

Allen Jay and the Underground Railroad
Allen Jay and the Underground Railroad is the retelling of a man's recollections of his first experience helping an escaped slave. The book brings the underground railroad down to the level primary students can comprehend. This book makes for wonderful discussions regarding overcoming one's fears, going against the norm and doing what you believe to be morally correct.

Kindle AvailableThe Glory Cloak: A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton
From childhood, Susan Gray and her cousin Louisa May Alcott have shared a safe, insular world of outdoor adventures and grand amateur theater -- a world that begins to evaporate with the outbreak of the Civil War. Frustrated with sewing uniforms and wrapping bandages, the two women journey to Washington, D.C.'s Union Hospital to volunteer as nurses.

Clara Barton Founder of the American Red Cross
Young Clara Barton is shy and lonely in her early days at boarding school. She is snubbed by the other girls because she doesn't know how to talk to them. But when she gets an opportunity to assist the local doctor, her shyness disappears, and Clara begins to discover her true calling as a nurse.

Kindle AvailableCivil War Days: Discover the Past with Exciting Projects, Games, Activities, and Recipes
Dozens of projects and activities that will take you back to the days of the American Civil War Travel back to 1862 and spend a year with the Wheelers, an African American family in New York City, and the Parkhursts, a white family in Charleston, South Carolina, Eleven-year-old Emily Parkhurst and twelve-year-old Timothy Wheeler are eager to share the fun, adventure, and hard work of their daily lives. Along the way, they'll show you how to play the games they play and make the toys and crafts they make.

History Channel Civil War
Secret Missions
There are about a half-dozen different small arms types, but the Henry is the best for rapid repeating fire and least reloading. The shotgun they give you is useless: you must aim spot-on to affect an enemy, so why not just use the rifle? Grenades are useful at times.

Wargame Construction
Age of Rifles 1846 - 1905
Game lets you design and play turn-based strategic battles. You can create scenarios betwen years 1846 and 1905. You have complete control over all the units, and can customize their firepower, movement points, strength, aggressiveness, etc. Supports 1 or 2 players

History Channel
Civil War A Nation Divided
Rally the troops and organize a counterattack -- Your strategic decision and talent as a commander will decide if the Union is preserved or if Dixie wins its independence

Sid Meier's Civil War Collection
Take command of either Confederate or Union troops and command them to attack from the trees, rally around the general, or do any number of other realistic military actions. The AI reacts to your commands as if it was a real Civil War general, and offers infinite replayability. The random-scenario generator provides endless variations on the battles